Reward and reinforcement activity in the nucleus accumbens during learning

The nucleus accumbens core (NAcc) has been implicated in learning associations between sensory cues and profitable motor responses. However, the precise mechanisms that underlie these functions remain unclear. We recorded single-neuron activity from the NAcc of primates trained to perform a visual-motor associative learning task. During learning, we found two distinct classes of NAcc neurons. The first class demonstrated progressive increases in firing rates at the go-cue, feedback/tone and reward epochs of the task, as novel associations were learned. This suggests that these neurons may play a role in the exploitation of rewarding behaviors. In contrast, the second class exhibited attenuated firing rates, but only at the reward epoch of the task. These findings suggest that some NAcc neurons play a role in reward-based reinforcement during learning

Evaluation of toxicity of the mycotoxin citrinin using yeast ORF DNA microarray and Oligo DNA microarray

BACKGROUND: Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites commonly present in feed and food, and are widely regarded as hazardous contaminants. Citrinin, one of the very well known mycotoxins that was first isolated from Penicillium citrinum, is produced by more than 10 kinds of fungi, and is possibly spread all over the world. However, the information on the action mechanism of the toxin is limited. Thus, we investigated the citrinin-induced genomic response for evaluating its toxicity. RESULTS: Citrinin inhibited growth of yeast cells at a concentration higher than 100 ppm. We monitored the citrinin-induced mRNA expression profiles in yeast using the ORF DNA microarray and Oligo DNA microarray, and the expression profiles were compared with those of the other stress-inducing agents. Results obtained from both microarray experiments clustered together, but were different from those of the mycotoxin patulin. The oxidative stress response genes – AADs, FLR1, OYE3, GRE2, and MET17 – were significantly induced. In the functional category, expression of genes involved in "metabolism", "cell rescue, defense and virulence", and "energy" were significantly activated. In the category of "metabolism", genes involved in the glutathione synthesis pathway were activated, and in the category of "cell rescue, defense and virulence", the ABC transporter genes were induced. To alleviate the induced stress, these cells might pump out the citrinin after modification with glutathione. While, the citrinin treatment did not induce the genes involved in the DNA repair. CONCLUSION: Results from both microarray studies suggest that citrinin treatment induced oxidative stress in yeast cells. The genotoxicity was less severe than the patulin, suggesting that citrinin is less toxic than patulin. The reproducibility of the expression profiles was much better with the Oligo DNA microarray. However, the Oligo DNA microarray did not completely overcome cross hybridization

Does Preoperative Cognitive Optimization Improve Postoperative Outcomes in the Elderly?

Perioperative neurocognitive disorder (PND) is a growing concern, affecting several million elderly patients each year in the United States, but strategies for its effective prevention have not yet been established. Humeidan et al. recently demonstrated that preoperative brain exercise resulted in a decrease in postoperative delirium incidence in elderly surgical patients, suggesting the potential of presurgical cognitive optimization to improve postoperative cognitive outcomes. This brief review summarizes the current knowledge regarding preoperative cognitive optimization and highlights landmark studies, as well as current ongoing studies, as the field is rapidly growing. This review further discusses the benefit of cognitive training in non-surgical elderly populations and the role of cognitive training in patients with preexisting cognitive impairment or dementia. The review also examines preclinical evidence in support of cognitive training, which can facilitate understanding of brain plasticity and the pathophysiology of PND. The literature suggests positive impacts of presurgical cognitive optimization, but further studies are encouraged to establish effective cognitive training programs for elderly presurgical patients

ACCELERATED COMMUNICATION G Protein-Coupled Receptors as Direct Targets of Inhaled Anesthetics

The molecular pharmacology of inhalational anesthetics remains poorly understood. Despite accumulating evidence suggesting that neuronal membrane proteins are potential targets of inhaled anesthetics, most currently favored membrane protein targets lack any direct evidence for anesthetic binding. We report herein the location of the binding site for the inhaled anesthetic halothane at the amino acid residue level of resolution in the ligand binding cavity in a prototypical G proteincoupled receptor, bovine rhodopsin. Tryptophan fluorescence quenching and direct photoaffinity labeling with [ 14 C]halothane suggested an interhelical location of halothane with a stoichi-The mechanisms of general anesthetic action at the molecular level remain poorly understood, despite their use in millions of patients each year. Understanding the molecula

Clinical Impact of a Pharmacist-Driven Prospective Audit with Intervention and Feedback on the Treatment of Patients with Bloodstream Infection

Evidence for the utility of pharmacist-driven antimicrobial stewardship programs remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of our institutional pharmacist-driven prospective audit with intervention and feedback (PAF) on the treatment of patients with bloodstream infections (BSIs). The effect of pharmacist-driven PAF was estimated using an interrupted time series analysis with a quasi-experimental design. The proportion of de-escalation during BSI treatment increased by 44% after the implementation of pharmacist-driven PAF (95% CI: 30–58, p p = 0.012) and by 15 per 100 patient days for tazobactam/piperacillin (95% CI: −26 to −4.9, p Staphylococcus aureus significantly increased (p < 0.01). In conclusion, our pharmacist-driven PAF increased the proportion of de-escalation and decreased the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, as well as the proportion of inappropriate treatment in patients with BSI. This indicates that pharmacist-driven PAF is useful in improving the quality of antimicrobial treatment and reducing broad-spectrum antimicrobial use in the management of patients with BSI

Cluster analysis of the mRNA expression profiles after the citrinin treatment

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Evaluation of toxicity of the mycotoxin citrinin using yeast ORF DNA microarray and Oligo DNA microarray"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/8/95</p><p>BMC Genomics 2007;8():95-95.</p><p>Published online 5 Apr 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC1865386.</p><p></p> Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed using GeneSpring as described in the text

Evaluation of toxicity of the mycotoxin citrinin using yeast ORF DNA microarray and Oligo DNA microarray-2

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Evaluation of toxicity of the mycotoxin citrinin using yeast ORF DNA microarray and Oligo DNA microarray"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/8/95</p><p>BMC Genomics 2007;8():95-95.</p><p>Published online 5 Apr 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC1865386.</p><p></p>Different types of microarray. Dye swap was carried out with the OL-1-1, OL-1-2 and OL-1-3 sheets

Evaluation of toxicity of the mycotoxin citrinin using yeast ORF DNA microarray and Oligo DNA microarray-4

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Evaluation of toxicity of the mycotoxin citrinin using yeast ORF DNA microarray and Oligo DNA microarray"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/8/95</p><p>BMC Genomics 2007;8():95-95.</p><p>Published online 5 Apr 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC1865386.</p><p></p>low the images